The TINJ diet

For my personal wellness, I eat a modified version of the TINJ (ancestral village) diet. What is in the TINJ diet? Best to start by going through what is NOT eaten in TINJ.

1> Margarine - I did not see any margarine anywhere in anyone's house anywhere in TINJ during my three weeks there. What can I say other than empty calories.

2> Mayonnaise - I did not see mayonnaise anywhere in anyone's house anywhere in TINJ during my three weeks there. Empty calories have no place in the diet. Also there was no Ranch Dressing, Ceaser Dressing, or Veggie Dip anywhere to be seen, other than the tourist areas being eaten by fat tourists.

3> Milk - I did not see any adults drinking milk other than a small splash in their Turkish Coffee. The only dairy I saw consumed by adults was small amounts of cheese, and butter that was used for baking.

4> Multi-Grain/Whole Grain Bread - I did not see anyone consuming any whole grain bread in TINJ. My aunt has a theory that people who eat whole grain bread with margarine don't eat enough vegetables. End result is they die younger than their relatives who never acquired a taste for rye bread.

5> Highly processed foods - If you showed an adult in TINJ a untoasted Kellogg's Pop Tart, they would think that it is a poorly designed bathroom tile. The only processing of food I saw was for preservation purposes. Nobody ate Lean Cuisine, TV Dinners, Kraft Dinner, Frozen Pizza, Pillsbury, or anything microwaveable...

Now you ask what do the people in TINJ eat?

1> White Albanian Bread, baked fresh every day. They eat thin slices, and since it's so tasty there is no need to add margarine. The closest thing we have in BC to White Albanian Bread is either Italian Bread, or French Bread.

2> Vegetables , vegetables and more vegetables. They fill themselves up with vegetables instead of starches like they do in North America. The vegetables are seasonal, self produced, and they don't give a damn whether they are organic or not.

3> Meat & Fish. There is no such thing as a vegetarian in TINJ. The locals would think they had a lunatic on their hands. The protein sources in order of consumption; lamb, fish, pork, veal, chicken, eggs, and very little beef. The lamb is primarily self produced, the fish is bought fresh at the fisherman's wharf, the pork & veal are purchased, the chicken/eggs are self produced, and the beef is bought at the butchers.

4> Mineral Water - In TINJ they drink tons of the stuff. They mix it at a ratio of two parts mineral water with one part wine or fruit juice. None of the locals drink fruit juice full strength. In addition, the favored soda on a scorching hot day is made by mixing mineral water with a small amount of fruit syrup from Bosnia & Hercegovina.

5> Olives - Lots of preserved olives. In a supermarket in Zadar county as much shelf space is dedicated to olives as is dedicated to salad dressings/pickles in North America.

In addition they consume lots of fresh cookies, fresh cakes, coffee and cigarettes. However I doubt they derive any health benefits from the C foods.

Only in TINJ have I seen men in their 80s capable of harvesting almonds, or Grandmas in their 80s complaining about shoddy Serbian bullets, and trying to out do one another in "If you show me your shrapnel wounds, I'll show you mine".